Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley was answering post-game questions in a Heinz Field tunnel when a passer-by distracted him by shouting “Hail to Pitt!”.
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Prior to becoming Pitt’s head coach, Narduzzi was defensive coordinator for eight seasons at Michigan State, where he was introduced to in-state rival Michigan. But Hamilton dropped the pass, and Rori Blair sacked McSorley on the next play to give Penn State a fourth-and-16 situation with the game on the line. Pitt rushed for 341 yards, led by 117 yards from James Conner and 58 from Quadree Henderson. They did hold Nova to just 53 rushing yards on 33 carries.
Later, Hines raced 41 yards to score for a 20-7 lead with 13:55 left. However, Henderson made a big play for the Panthers on the kickoff, returning the ball 84 yards down inside the redzone and setting up another Conner touchdown. The Clairton grad did not catch a pass.
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi summed up his thoughts of the game with one word, “Unbelievable”. Conner looked sharp in his first game back and Peterman has consistently thrown touchdown passes lately. The Panthers didn’t have much incentive to throw the ball, but they weren’t able to get anything going when they did need to pass. Those champions from decades ago must have seen the similarities: a team with a run game that hearkens back to an old-school era and a defense with an aggressive, fierce style. “We don’t want to lose to them”.
But in addition to handing the ball off to Conner, the Panthers ran jet sweeps to wide receivers and put players in motion before the snap throughout the game. “When you can establish the run game and stop them from running the ball … you win all day with that”.
But in reality it was everything you could ask for in a game.
Pitt was able to string together big drives without the passing game by staying out of third-and-long situations. They recovered three Penn State fumbles, which was undoubtedly a huge factor in the win. He was hit by end Ejuan Price, who blew around Lion LT Brendan Mahon. In what is expected to be close game, points will be at a premium and Davis is 10-10 on field goal attempts in his short career. Playing three new starters up front, the Nittany Lion front four looked susceptible when they weren’t sacking Kent State’s quarterbacks.
“Let’s get one for Joe today”, Penn State fan Mike Cohrac said. Sometimes it ends on the final play, the script completely changing over the span of a few seconds. “I saw it in the air and took it”. Fortunately, the mistakes didn’t cost them the game this afternoon.
“Aaron has a chance to play for (a starting role) next year, so he’s excited about that”, Dave said.
Now that I got my criticisms out of my system, I can properly enjoy the moment of beating a team I truly despise.
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Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made it a point in the run-up to Saturday’s renewal after a 15-year hiatus to give his kids a crash course, one that happened to coincide with a rare media blackout that Narduzzi described as necessary to make sure the Panthers didn’t get caught up in any distractions before arguably the program’s most notable nonconference game since September 16, 2000, when Pitt handed Penn State and coach Joe Paterno a 12-0 loss. Pitt came with the same strategy, tried to pound the ball on the ground, but it wasn’t as effective as it was in the first half. Betting Odds Spread: Pitt -4.5 Over/Under: 51 Penn State vs. Pitt Prediction The Nittany Lions and the Panthers both strive to be upper-echelon teams in their respective divisions and leagues, so a win in a showcase nonconference game like this one could help catapult either team toward its conference season. After his session, former Pitt coach Walt Harris – the last Pitt coach to beat Penn State – popped in and assembled a five-word sentence that Narduzzi didn’t quite manage himself.
